"A lot of times, they’ll work in teams. We arrest a team and we see a decrease in burglaries," Erwin said. "Then another team will come along and the numbers go back up again."

She said the teams often have one person designated as the lookout person. In addition, they knock on doors to make sure nobody is home before breaking in through the back of the home. In some cases, they break into a car to steal the garage controller.

At least half of Granite Bay burglaries are of homes where people leave their windows or doors open or unlocked, according to deputies.